3) Peer-to-Peer Lending This method of unusual investments bypasses financial institutions and works with individuals themselves. A website called Prosper.com lists people who want to borrow money with verified credit scores. If you are an investor, you can choose whom to lend money to and how much, making an interest in return. The returns with this method have been reported to be better than Treasury Bonds or Bank CDs.
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There is an ever-increasing number of ways to invest your money. Generally, money managers will tell you the key to financial success in the long-term is diversification. However, there are various unique investments that are beginning to dominate the financial front. Here are 5 examples of unusual investments, which may surprise you:
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6) Winner: Brazil.
By 2020, Brazil is projected to be the seventh largest economy in the world, overtaking France and the UK. Brazil’s growth is promising because it is a major exporter of natural resources and energy.
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With the new decade well underway, everyone wants a sneak peak at what will happen to the economy by the end of it. Here are some possible winners and losers in the world economy in 2020:

1) Loser: U.S.A.
The United States will cease to be the world’s largest economy. This is already happening, as its GDP has been declining steadily over the past decade, and will continue to do so over the next one. The 2008-09 financial crisis was a massive blow for the U.S. economy as well, with a 2.4 percent reduction in its real GDP. So, the U.S. will no longer be the leader in the world economy in 2020.
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Crazy trading investment nearly collapses the market

In 2007 a New York trader made a trading investment not worth millions, but rather billions, of dollars. But he got it all wrong. As a result of his error, the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered a thousand point drop and the markets nearly collapsed. People started panicking and many orders got triggered to sell. This caused one of the biggest crashes ever seen, and the trader was probably responsible for a lot of heart attacks that day! He was from Citigroup, and after that, not surprisingly, he lost his job! Fortunately for investors, once the crash was identified as being the result of human error, the market quickly recovered.
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Last month, one of my big stocks took a plunge after the company announced some bad news, and quickly it turned into one of the worst investment I’d ever made. Thousands of dollars worse off than I thought I was, I have decided to put things in perspective by collating some of the worst million dollar investments the world has ever seen!
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Why diversify investments? The main reason is to manage investment risks and try to reduce the market volatility that can affect returns. Diversity is crucial to a successful investment portfolio over the long term, and will cause less fluctuations and fewer losses usually. A diverse portfolio is one that includes investments in many different areas and sectors, to help the portfolio see small gains even when some holdings lose money instead. Including many asset classes will ensure that your investment portfolio performs nicely regardless of what the economic situation or market conditions are. Diversity offers less risk for your market capital, although it is not possible to remove all of the risks from any investments. Managing risks is an important element in any investment strategy though, and diversity can help you manage these risks as much as possible.
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Insider trading involves those people that are directly and indirectly involved with a company, sharing information that is not publicly known to benefit an investment situation. Insider trading is illegal. End of story. While it may have been done in the quiet of a conference room or across a dinner table, the prosecution of some involved in insider trading has put a bit of a reduction in the practice. There are, however, methods that you can use that are legal ways to access insider trading tips. It requires some due diligence, but can be one of the best investment tools in your tool box.
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Everyone cringes at that time of year when they have to do their taxes. It’s part of American life and a right-of-passage for those that enter the work force. Over the years, many of the tax deductions that helped working folk have been removed or changed to be almost negligible. However, there are still quite a few that remain in place. Here are some commonly overlooked tax deductions.
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Smart financial planning basics include planning for your child’s education and establishing a newlywed financial checklist if you are planning on tying the knot. Unfortunately, smart financial planning basics are not something taught in schools, so many people spend their lives struggling with money issues. Smart financial planning basics also include establishing a budget for your living expenses. Since the advent of debit and credit cards it has become too easy to swipe away and not have an understanding of how much we are really spending and on what.
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